Home of a mother, wife, writer

It’s been a pretty good first week of the month. I actually made it through all my writing goals, even finished the first draft of Closing Time. I seem to be settling into a decent routine for me, though I’m still fine-tuning it. I’m a little behind on the reading front, but hoping I’ll have time today to catch up some there.

Mr. Destructive Puppy…or what happens when you chew up your blanket

Last night was our volunteer fire department’s annual gun raffle. This is one of the big fundraisers for the department. It’s the first time I’ve worked it. Was rather nervous, because you know…people. But, I sat at a table and helped sell tickets for the Chinese auction. It wasn’t too bad, though got a little boring when it slowed down on into the night. And there were a lot of people there, and sound bounces off the walls in the fire department’s social hall, so I was a little on edge. But, the Explorer post watched the kids for those who were working, so we didn’t even have to worry about a babysitter. Didn’t get home until after 10, but I was awake by 2:30 for some unknown reason and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, it’s not even 6 a.m. and I’ve already read some blog posts, figured out my goals for the next week, and started this blog post.

Now, for my progress on my goals for the week:

Write: 14000 words– 14215/14000 words. Finished Closing Time and started Toby & Denise’s story(though a lot of what I have was written between a Story a Day piece & a Stream of Consciousness Saturday post(yesterday’s actually). I did have to add a bit to the first one and adjust a couple things in the second. I’m counting all the words, though.

Closing Time – 9553 words – Cam glanced over at Gio, but he only said, “Whatever you want. I’m beside you regardless.”

Break on Me – 1067 words – He hated this. Hated that sometimes there was nothing else that helped. But, he knew that once his mind started racing, there was no slowing it down again on his own. Lora had helped earlier and still that had only been a stopgap measure. He needed to put the brakes on this before it went out of control.

In the Moonlight – 1032 words – Her head fell back, and she let out a loud, full laugh. A tingle went over my skin at the sound of it, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face.

Defending the Heart – 1078 words -Piers opened his mouth to say he didn’t hate Xavier, but he was already walking back across the yard. Really swaggering or sauntering would be better words. And it didn’t really help the situation in his jeans. But, he continued to watch as Xavier approached the dance floor.

Toby & Denise – 1485 words – His brother stuck his tongue out, and Toby caught him in a quick headlock. But, it was hard to hold it when he was laughing nearly as much as the teenager. *loved writing Toby with his younger siblings.

Edit: Guarding the Heart – Timeline issues– worked through these. Added 120 words. Also, still looking for beta readers for Healing the Heart if anyone’s interested.

Plot: Toby & Denise – finish outline– got this finished on Monday.

Brainstorm: Jess & Terrall– brainstormed & started working through the Story Toolkit for it.

Side Projects: Add 3000 words– 2757/3000 words. Going to adjust this back down to 2000. It just feels like too much with everything else. And pretty sure I won’t finish the Snow White Twist in time to submit it. Even if I finish writing it by the end of the month, I won’t have time to revise. I may wait and submit it next year.

Dance with the Devil – 934 words – I couldn’t help it. I smiled a little at that one. Icarus’ return smile was soft. “I don’t know exactly what made you take off like that, but I’d hoped after all this time you’d trust us. And that you wouldn’t still be so reckless with your own life. Do you really think it’s worth so little?”

Snow White Twist – 1018 words – She stared at him, and he only chuckled again. “I might need glasses,” he said, tapping the ones resting on the bridge of his nose, “but I can still see. Go to her. She was worried for you.”

Patrick & Sarah – 224 words – She just sniffed and turned away. “The town would be better off without all three of them. So would you, young man. You may want to keep that in mind.” *old busybody, though she could be right about one of them(if you’ve read Stained Snow, you’ll probably know who)

Tavin & Haiwee – 148 words. I seem to have lost words I know I wrote a couple weeks ago. Had to rewrite, but it wasn’t quite the same. – She took off after asking the question, though not as quickly as before. Almost as if she was holding herself back for him. He shook his head then picked up his pace. “Had family. Back in Scotland. Brother’s still there. I came over after our parents died.” *Didn’t even realize Tavin had a brother until I wrote this.

Roman – 288 words – “I got called in. I’d say this is more important. I’m not fragile, Roman.”Maybe not, but he was. *aw, Roman. Your wife is stronger than you give her credit for.

Dougal & Shae – 145 words – He loved the stubborn old bastard, but he couldn’t work for the man. And he really didn’t want to have to go crawling back, saying he’d failed just as his father had predicted. *Oh, Dougal, I totally get mixed feelings about fathers.

Listen: Wrong Question, Right Answer(Elle Casey) and Shadow of a Doubt(Tiffany Snow) – I finished Wrong Question, Right Answer(liked it okay, but it felt kind of disconnected to me) then re-listened to Six of Crows to get ready for reading the sequel(3rd listen & still all the same flails over it). Just finished listening to Shadow of a Doubt this morning(liked this one better than the first, though I almost stopped listening early on b/c I got irritated with the attitude of the “hero”, but it got better)

Read: Finish Sudden Death(Allison Brennan), Right of First Refusal(Dahlia Adler), The Blade’s Memory(Lindsay Buroker),Saint and Scholar(Holley Trent), Chemical Reaction(A.M. Leibowitz), Shallow Graves(Kali Wallace), Rest Stop(Catie Rhodes), & Crooked Kingdom(Leigh Bardugo) – I finished Sudden Death(slow to get into it, but enjoyed it. Added her other books to my list to find at the used book store – particularly the older ones), Right of First Refusal(I really enjoyed this one and have the next in the series on the list to read this month, too), The Blade’s Memory(I love all Lindsay’s book, but this one felt a lot slower to me), & Crooked Kingdom(I skipped ahead of my list & so glad. I’m destroyed & giddy & wishing this was a trilogy instead of a duology so I could spend more time with these characters. So, obviously I LOVED this one). I started Saint and Scholar this morning and hope to finish it and Chemical Reaction today, and the others will move to next week’s list.

Knit: Unleashed Hat– Finished this a little bit ago.

A lot of blue, a little bit of green, and some red. Not bad overall. Hopefully I can keep that up or do better next week.

Write 14000 words(Break on Me will be my new main project)

Edit: Guarding the Heart – Scene issues(this will mostly be rearranging things, but may be some more new words, too)

Comments on: "Sunday Summary: Good First Week" (4)

I have a hard time working something like your firefighter’s benefit for the same reason. But I’m usually glad I did afterward, especially when it’s for a good cause. Good job on your goals progress, and keep up the good work!